The Regioneers: Rise of the Rings
by DeltaX414
Summary: Heroes from all the regions are being called by a mysterious figure only known as "Delta". As he leads them to places, they each begin to see that all the enemies that they fought in the past weren't really defeated, only in hiding.
1. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

 _Johto Radio Tower_

"How could this be?" Archer said, kneeling in front of the three kids who had just defeated him. "Mega evolution, our demise. Our dreams have come to naught. I was not up to the task after all."

"Whenever people try to do wrong," Max said. "There will always be those who oppose them."

"Memorable words," Archer replied, standing up. "Like Giovanni has done before me, I will disband Team Rocket here today. Farewell to you all." With those words, Archer walked past Max, Lucie, and Grace, and into the elevator.

When the elevator doors closed, Archer took a deep breath.

"It's over," he said with his head hung.

"Oh, but it isn't"

Archer turned around quickly to see a person in a silver suit of armor standing behind him.

"Wh-who are you?"

""Someone that's going to help you resurrect Team Rocket."

Spear Pillar

"What is truly ultimate for you?" Cyrus asked the girl standing in front of him. "What do you consider perfection? Bah! Never mind. You don't see my world. Telling you is meaningless. But I will not give up. I will control… no, become a deity one day. And I will make the ultimate me."

With that statement, Cyrus walked past Paige and into the cave system of Mount Coronet.

"I know someone that can make you a deity."

Cyrus turned around and saw a man with light blue hair and a white suit with a red R on it.

"I'm listening."

Giant Chasm

"How can this be? I'm the creator of Team Plasma!" Ghetsis raged, looking at the three trainers before him with pure fury. "I'm perfect! I'm the absolute ruler who will change the world!"

"It's over Ghetsis," Winter said.

"I've lost to some unknown trainer," he continued, not even noticing Winter's comment. "Not once, but TWICE!? I can't accept this!"

"You don't need to accept it," Jackson remarked.

"Please," N said. "Let us help you."

"Shut your mouth!" Ghetsis screamed, face twisted of fury. "Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP! Don't talk like a person, you freak!"

The Shadow Triad appeared around Ghetsis.

"Lord Ghetsis has… lost control…" the first one said.

"We'll take it from here…" the second one added.

The third one walked up to Ghetsis.

"We know… of someone that will help you…" he whispered into Ghetsis's ear. "And will deal with these… trainers."

The three picked up Ghetsis and took him out of the cave, and to a safe house far away.

The Ultimate Machine: Legendary Room

"It's over Lysandre," Xavier said, looking up at the man towering above him. "Stop these insane dreams."

"You… you are one of the few who are truly pure, Xavier. And you try to throw it away." Lysandre touched his eyepiece. "Fire it."

The room began to rumble. A rock fell to his left.

"There's too much energy, sir!" the grunt said from the other end of the earpiece. "The machine can't take it!"

Lysandre looked up at the legendary Pokémon that towered above him. The full celled Zygarde.

"So powerful…"

A rock fell behind him. Xavier was racing to him. He looked Xavier in the eyes and said one thing.

"You've unleased something worse than death."

A giant boulder crashed between the two, cracking open the metal floor. Lysandre took a step back.

"Come with me."

Lysandre turned around to see someone in full silver armor standing in front of a giant golden ring filled with distorted air.

"What do you want?" Lysandre asked.

"I can help you make your perfect world. Without the deaths of Pokémon."

Lysandre looked down at the person.

"I'll listen."

"Then follow me."

The person stepped through the distorted air in the distorted air and vanished. Lysandre followed.


	2. Chapter 1

**_Chapter 1: Max_**

 _Viridian City_

"Mewtwo, Psycho Cut! Blastoise, counter with Hydro Pump!"

The pale purple Pokémon used its tail to shoot a glowing purple ripple through the air. The giant turtle-like Pokémon turned its giant cannon, poking through its shell, towards the ripple and fired a heavy stream of water. As the water hit the ripple, the ripple exploded, but the water continued towards Mewtwo.

"Mewtwo, cut that water down the middle with brick break!"

Mewtwo responded quickly by lashing out its Mega evolved muscular leg. It stretched and hit the water stream down the middle, making it disappear.

"Okay then. One more drill, then we're going to be done," Max said.

Before Max could make any calls, he heard his name called from inside his house.

"Coming Mom!" Max yelled, grabbing two Poké balls. "Sorry guys, gonna have to do this later."

After he returned his two Pokémon to their Poké balls, he rushed inside. He found his mother standing in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Grace and Lucie called," she said as she cracked an egg into a bowl. "They said they wanted to talk to you over the PC as soon as you could."

"Thanks Mom!" Max said as he ran upstairs to his room. He closed the door and plopped into his chair. He logged onto his PC. He noticed a new message in his inbox, but before he could do anything, a video call popped up. He accepted it and his screen was filled with two familiar faces.

While both of the twins had strawberry blonde hair, Lucie wore hers longer. The only other difference between the two were the eyes, Lucie's silver and Grace's gold.

"Hey Max," Grace said.

"Hey," Max answered.

"How's it going?" Lucie asked.

"Pretty good," Max replied as a message notice appeared on the corner of his screen. "How are things for you guys?"

"Okay," Grace replied.

"Good," Lucie said at the same time. The two looked at each other for a moment. They hated it when they answered at the same time.

"So," Max said, bringing the girls back. "What's the occasion of this call?"

"Well," Grace said, glaring at Lucie. "We thought since it's your birthday today…"

"Oh!" Max interrupted, slapping his forehead. "I completely forgot!"

"That among other things…" Lucie commented.

"Anyway," Grace said. "We thought, since it's your birthday, we could all meet at Victory Road's Entrance and head to a Kimono Girls show."

"Guys. I would…" Max started but stopped as another message notice appeared on his screen. "Could you guys hold on a second while I take care of something real quick?"

"Sure," both girls answered, the glared at each other.

Max stifled a laugh as he opened his inbox. In it were three messages, all from unknown. Max opened the first message:

 _If you receive this message, respond back immediately._

Max opened the other two to find the exact same message. Not knowing what to do, he responded to the most recent one with _received_. He opened his video chat to see the two girls still staring at each other intently.

"Hello?" Max said.

The two girls turned back to the screen, blushing.

"You guys need to get over that," Max said.

"Um…" Lucie said.

"So, what's your response?"

Before Max could respond, a _ding_ could be heard from the other side.

"Hold that thought please," Grace asked, closing the video browser on her side.

 _Am I ever going to be able to answer?_ Max asked himself.

Another message notice appeared on the screen. Max opened his inbox to find a new message. He clicked on it to find:

 _Max, You don't know me, but that will be resolved soon. In messages, I will call myself Delta. I am needing your help with a big problem. For now, I need you to go to Victory Road's Entrance. Bring your best team. If you happen to see any Team Rocket goons or Executives, know that they are up to no good. I will explain more, later. Don't tell anyone about these messages._

 _-Delta δ_

Max read the message over several times. Could Team Rocket be back? What could they be doing? He got on the video chat to see Lucie and Grace staring at each other, again.

"Is this going to be what I see every time I get back on here?" Max asked, laughing a little.

The two girls looked at Max.

"Uh, Max…" Lucie started. "About the show…"

"I can't go," Max said.

"What?" Grace asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Max said. "Something came up. I might be able to go tomorrow, though."

"Um…" Lucie said. "Yeah, I guess we could plan for tomorrow."

"Okay then, see you both tomorrow."

"See ya!" Both girls sung before turning on each other again.

Max shut off the video feed and began packing. He grabbed his backpack, Poké Gear, spare set of running shoes, extra Poké Balls, and his hat. He rushed downstairs and explained to his mom that he was going to Victory Road for some extra training and that he would call if anything popped up. After getting a bite to eat, he ran out the door and turned west for Victory Road.


	3. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2: Paige_**

 _Canalave City_

"You did well today, kid," said the city's gym leader, Byron. "Your Empoleon and Cresselia are certainly warming up to my training regimens."

"You know Dad," Byron's son, Roark, said. "Maybe you should create some new challenges for her Pokémon. Cresselia has the ability to fly higher. Something none of your Steel-types have I think."

"That's true. Gonna have to fix that."

"And maybe some water challenges for Empoleon?"

"You know what? I think that we could do that! Maybe if we used to spinners from the evasiveness regimen, and made the taller, plus…"

Paige let out a sigh. This is how every training morning went. After her Pokémon mastered another training regimen in record time, Byron and Roark would ramble about new ideas to challenge her Pokémon. She waited for them to tone down a little before she snapped them out of their tangents.

"So…" Paige said, getting their attention. "See you tomorrow?"

"Unless Team Galactic has cropped up again or you've found a better trainer," Byron said.

"And the trainer better than him is helping him," Roark said, jabbing his dad in the side with his elbow.

"Heheh. Maybe," Byron said. "So if you're hoping to skip training tomorrow, you better hope Team Galactic has something planned."

"I'm not holding my breath," Paige replied.

"Then be here 5 sharp," Byron said.

"All right then," Paige said, turning to go. "See you tomorrow!"

"See ya!" Byron and Roark said as they began to walk away. Paige heard them begin to talk about more crazy designs for training regimens.

Paige began to walk towards the docks. It was only six o'clock, and her mother wouldn't expect her back for at least another half hour. On her way to the docks, she saw a boy in a leather jacket training an Aggron and a silver Pokémon that looked like a Lucario.

When she got to the docks, she sat at the edge of the one at the end of the row. She breathed in the salty air and released Cresselia, who floated down next to her. After defeating Team Galactic, chasing away the Darkrai, catching Cresselia, and solving the Stark Mountain mystery, things felt like they were turning semi-normal.

After a couple more minutes, the sun began to rise. She loved looking at the sun rise every morning that she could. It never got old. A couple minutes had passed by when she heard a set of footsteps on the dock. She looked to her left to see the boy with the leather jacket walking towards her. He stopped about three feet from her and sat down on the edge of the dock. They both stayed silent for a couple minutes.

"This sunrise reminds me of someone back at my home," the boy started. "Haven't seen her for a long time."

Paige stayed silent.

"I'm having a hard time believing that I'm sitting next to the legendary warrior," he said. "Chase that legend my entire journey to find it taken by someone else. Ah well."

 _What does he mean 'legendary warrior'?_ Paige thought _I'm no warrior._

A couple minutes passed in silence.

" _When time and space are controlled by on,_ " he began. " _And new begins to replace the old. A warrior of the moon shall come, and calm an old fight renewed._ "

Silence followed for several moments.

"Some think that your fight against Team Galactic wasn't the prophesied battle. But most of the facts line up. Cyrus had Dialga and Palkia. He was trying to replace the old with the new. What else is there to cover? There can't be…"

Paige looked over to see him staring into the sky. When she looked up, she saw a Delibird, fluttering down, sack in wing. It landed between the two. It looked at the boy, then turned to her. It fished a small, brown, paper package from its sack, handed it to her, and then took off. It had an envelope tied to it. She looked over at the boy.

"I'll give you some privacy," he said. "I got to get back on the road anyway. Nice talking to you."

The boy stood up and began to walk away.

"Wait," Paige said, stopping the boy. "What's your name?"

The boy smiled. "I go by BB. But I'm not in any phone book." And with that he walked away.

Paige watched the boy walk off the dock. As soon as he was out of sight, she turned to the package. She took the letter off of it and opened it. It read:

Paige, I hope this reaches **you** and not someone else. If you're Paige, then know that Team Galactic has gathered again with new allies. They plan to do something at the Veilstone Meteor Field. I need you to head there. I will hopefully be sending you some allies of my own to help you. Please trust me. This will all make sense later. -Delta δ P.S. Inside this package is the newest model of an Xtranciever. Please keep it on you so I can contact you in emergencies.

Paige didn't know what to think.

 _Could Team Galactic be back?_ She thought. _Cyrus hasn't been seen in over a year, but still._

She watched the sunrise for a little longer. Then she made her decision. She would give Delta a chance. If Team Galactic was in action again, she had to stop it. Plus, she needed to get away. Those reasons were enough to convince her. She returned Cresselia to her Poké Ball, grabbed the package, and ran back to her house to make preparations.


	4. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3: Winter_**

 _Nimbasa Park_

"Do we have to meet here?" N asked, looking around nervously. "There are too many people around."

Winter took a deep breath and looked around. There were few people nearby. Even after being around N for about a year, she still couldn't understand N's fear of people.

 _But then again,_ she thought. _It's hard to understand someone that doesn't understand people._

"You really need to calm down N," Jackson said as the three sat down at a table under a tree. "The only people who really need to hear what we're saying are in hiding."

"If you say so," N said.

"Ghetsis is still in hiding," Winter said. "And Zinzolin has only recently escaped from jail. We need to find both of them before they do something… um… bad."

"Why don't we let your police take care of them?" N asked. "That's what their supposed to do. Right?"

"They deal with normal run-of-the-mill criminals," Jackson answered. "These guys aren't exactly in their league."

"What about Looker?" N asked. "He helped round up the sages the first time."

"Can't get ahold of him," Winter replied. "So we are left on our own."

"Hm… Fine," N said. "As soon as you two contacted me, I checked out the old Team Plasma bases around the region. From three years ago."

"What about new bases?" Winter asked.

"The only base we know about is the Plasma Frigate," Jackson said. "And Corless told me they were going to move to a different region since they have a bad reputation here."

"Did they say which they were going to?" Winter asked.

"Well, I didn't really ask," Jackson answered sheepishly.

"So in other words," N said. "There is a base or safe house that only Ghetsis, Zinzolin, and the Shadow Triad know about."

"Speaking of the Shadow Triad," Jackson interrupted. "Has anyone seen or heard from the Shadow Triad recently?"

N looked thoughtful for a moment. He shook his head. Winter thought for a moment. She had been the one least challenged by the Shadow Triad, but she still had gotten a challenge at least twice a month. This last month, she hadn't gotten any challenges. She shook her head.

"My last time was about a month ago," Jackson said.

"Same here," N said.

"That must mean that they are preparing for something," Winter said.

"Or maybe they just quit," Jackson said hopefully.

"Well, back to the main problem," Winter said. "How do we find Ghetsis and Zinzolin?"

"Have you tried asking the gym leaders?" N asked.

"I asked everyone," Winter replied. "Including Lenora, the Triplets, Alder, and the Elite Four."

"And I asked Roxie, Mr. Stu Deeoh, Iris, and the reformed Team Plasma," Jackson reported.

"So here is covered," N said.

"We need to move off region then," Winter said.

"I have contacts in Kanto, Hoenn, and Kalos," Jackson reported.

"That's great," Winter said. "But I think we need to actually move off region. Ourselves."

"Might actually be a good idea," N said.

"I agree," Jackson answered. "But we need some guidelines."

"Okay then," Winter said, thinking quickly. "How about, anyone wearing the Plasma logo is under suspicion. The people…"

She was cut off by ringing. She looked at her Xtranciever on her wrist. It had the 'Incoming call' symbol on it. Even after she answered it, the ringing continued. She looked over at Jackson, who was fishing his from his bag. Again. After he put it on and answered it, her screen filled with four sections. The first one had the audio-only sign. The second and third were filled with Jackson and her faces. The last one had static, signaling that this was only a three people conversation.

"Hello?" a voice came from her Xtranciever. "Is this Winter and Jackson?"

"Yes," Winter answered.

"Good," the voice answered. "My name is Delta. I have some information for you that might help your search for Team Plasma."

"What's the catch?" Jackson asked.

"Straight to the point," Delta said with a chuckle. "You and I are very much alike, Jackson."

"Umm… Thank you?"

A laugh came over the speakers.

"If you're anything like that, Delta, then I'm not sure who you are," a new voice said.

"Tabitha," Delta said. "Please don't speak. I need this to be quick, or they'll pick up the signal."

"Right, sorry."

"So what is the catch?" Winter asked.

"If I give you this information, you have to help me with a project of mine."

"How do we know that we can trust you?" Jackson asked.

"That's what this information is for."

"And what information is this exactly?" Winter said.

"The location of Zinzolin."

Jackson and Winter looked at each other, then to N, who shrugged.

"I don't know people like you two do," N said.

"Can we trust him?" Winter said, turning to Jackson.

"That's kind of why I'm giving you the location of Zinzolin," Delta said.

"Why not then?" Jackson said.

"Jackson!" Winter said urgently.

"What? We've got nothing to lose."

Winter thought. The 'nothing to lose' part was wrong, but it was still a chance that should be taken.

"Fine," she said. "We'll go."

"Great!" Delta said. "Zinzolin is hiding out at the P2 Laboratory. I'll talk to you guys later."

With that, the signal cut out, and the call ended.

"P2 Labs?" Jackson asked.

"It's by Route 117," Winter explained, turning her Xtranciever to silent. "By my hometown."

"It used to be a Team Plasma base originally," N explained further. "We left it due to its openness."

"Worth a shot then," Jackson said.

"You two wouldn't mind if I stayed behind would you?" N said. "I don't have fond memories of that place."

"That's fine," Winter said. "We'll tell you what we find."

"I'm going to go back to the Giant Chasm. Kyurem has been gone for quite a long time."

"Okay then," Winter said.

N stood up, nodded to both Jackson and Winter, and then walked back towards the entrance, often looking at other people uncomfortably.

Winter turned to Jackson.

"Let's go catch us a sage."


	5. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4: Xavier_**

 _Flare Memorial, Geosenge Town_

Rocks and dirt began to fall from above. The cavern was collapsing since the two power sources had escaped. Xavier looked in front of him. There he was, right in front of him. He rushed over to get him. But before he could reach him, Lysandre met his eyes and said one thing.

 _"You've unleashed something worse than death."_

Before Xavier could reach him, a boulder fell between him, making him fall to the ground. He was about to get up when he heard something. A voice.

 _"Xavier. Xavier! No more flashbacks, remember?"_

Xavier opened his eyes. He still saw rocks and dirt, but they were below him, not above. He looked out of the hole and around the town. It had rebuilt itself, but traces of the machine remained. Despite them doing bad things, so many people had died in the machine's inner rooms. So the town erected a small memorial statue on the south side of the hole.

"You need to stop thinking about it. Maybe then you'll stop having flashbacks."

Xavier turned to the voice, which was, as usual, Looker. Ever since Dr. Xerosic had gone to jail, Looker stayed around Xavier, trying to get him out of his moods and flashbacks.

"It wasn't your fault," Looker said.

 _He we go again._

"Zygarde didn't trigger the machine, grunts did."

"But the machine had no energy," Xavier argued. "Xerneas and Yveltal had escaped, leaving the machine powerless. Zygarde powered the machine, and it fired. It might have been too much energy for the machine to take, so it cracked. "

Xavier took a big breath. Looker would now try to prove him wrong with some new theory.

"The machine might've had storage cells for the energy. It would be a great contingency plan."

"Has Xerosic said anything?"

"Well, no."

"What's his explanation?"

"That… something great powered the machine."

Bingo.

"And that something great would be Zygarde in his full form."

"Do you plan to keep Zygarde contained forever because of what he might've indirectly done?"

"No. That would be criminal. I will let him roam, but only in his dog and half form."

"Why are you so afraid of releasing him in his true form? What are you not telling me?"

"Nothing. I've told you everything."

Silence followed. This was where Looker usually went back to the Pokémon Center and waited for Xavier to return.

"I've… seen lots of legends fulfill themselves," Looker said slowly.

This was new.

"I've met kids, ordinary kids, who stood up to those who were stronger to them in many ways. Some of them I saw grow from start to finish. Others, like you, I met after they had done something great. You are like them. You stood up for what was right when others didn't. And they, like you, saw people become lost, both physically and mentally. But they didn't blame themselves long. They learned to get over it. And that's what you need to do. That, or stop blaming yourself."

Looker began to walk away, then stopped.

"How often do you check your messages? I believe that it's time for Dr. Xerosic's usual prison banter."

Xavier pulled out his Holo Caster. He kept it on silent as a minor honor to the memorial. He found two messages on it. One, the most recent, was from _unknown_. The second one was from Dr. Xerosic. He turned up the volume and began to play the message. Dr. Xerosic appeared in front of him, hands clasped behind his back.

"Hello Xavier," the message began. "I'm just calling at my usual time because that's become a habit. I'm not in prison though. Oh, no. That isn't where I am. And now that I'm not in prison, I plan to exact my revenge on you for destroying the peace bringer. You will feel my rage. My **_true_** rage. Xerosic out."

Looker immediately began pulling out several different kinds of phone gadgets out of his pocket and putting them to his ear. While he was making calls, Xavier listened to the message again. The major thing that stood out to him was Xerosic getting his revenge because of the machine, not Lysandre's death. Xerosic had been as loyal as a Furfrou. Apparently that had been a front. Xavier looked at the other message and decided to click on it. Instead of a face or the Holo Caster logo appearing, a symbol appeared:

δ

"Hello?" the message played. "Is this thing recording? Well, if it isn't whoops. If you're getting this message Xavier, then it is recording. My name is Delta. I'm a good friend of Looker's. Dr. Xerosic has escaped if you haven't found out already. He is working with several other people to do… uh… something bad. He is hiding out at Lysandre Labs. You and Looker have to head there ASAP. And in case you don't trust me, which would be smart, ask Looker about me. And in case you're only getting the message just now, head to Lysandre Labs. Dr. X is there. Delta out."

Xavier turned to Looker.

"Who's Delta?" he asked.

"An old friend. Haven't heard from him in over a year."

"Can we trust him?"

"Yes. Where do we need to go?"

"Lysandre Labs. What the quickest way there?"

Looker smiled and said, "Have you ever ridden a helicopter?"


	6. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5: Paige_**

 _Hearthome City_

Paige sat down on the Pokémon Center's couch. She knew she was pushing herself too hardtop get to Veilstone City. It usually took her all day to just get to Hearthome, but here she was at noon. She felt that she needed to listen to the letter, even if it is from someone who she didn't know. Still, she had to wit. Empoleon was being healed, after taking several hits from some Roserades. They were annoying.

Her plan was to travel through Celestic Town to reach Veilstone. She planned on asking some questions to friends there. And it was a less used path, making Team Galactic less prepared for her arrival that way.

She decided to head to the cafeteria to get some food. As she was getting up to head to the cafeteria, she heard something interesting.

"Excuse me," Paige said, walking up to a man. "Did you say something about spacemen?"

"Yeah," he said. "Saw a couple of them down in Pastoria. They looked like that old gang from a year ago. They're probably dress-ups for the festival."

Paige thanked the man and continued into the cafeteria. She got some food and sat down at one of the public tables.

"If you hadn't sat right there, I'd say you were following me."

Paige looked to the person on her left, who had spoken. It was the boy from the docks at Canalave. He offered his hand.

"Name's BB, in case you forgot."

"I didn't forget," Paige shot back.

"She speaks! The warrior speaks!" he exclaimed, raising his hands in the air. Several people looked in their direction.

"I can speak," Paige said, grabbing his arms and pulling them down. "And I'm not a warrior."

"Prophecy says otherwise."

"I didn't have Cresselia at the time, and Team Galactic was new, not old."

"Maybe that part was mistranslated."

"Go check then," Paige said, getting a bite of food into her mouth before she said anything else too harsh.

"Can't."

Paige swallowed her food. "And why's that?"

"Team Galactic destroyed the mural to get to Spear Pillar."

Paige frowned. **That** was the mural that Looker had pointed out in the mountain.

"Don't you have pictures?" Paige asked, getting in another bite of food.

"Well, yes," BB said. "But…"

"Then why were you making that excuse?"

"It wasn't an excuse. And I've only seen the pictures once. Someone took them from me. I only have my rough translation."

Paige stayed silent and took another bite.

"So you agree that you're the Warrior?"

Swallowing, Paige replied, "No. I'm just not wanting to talk about that topic anymore."

"Okay then. How about that fancy Xtranciever you got at the docks?"

Paige almost spit out her food. _How did he?_

"You were toying with it when you passed my camp."

"In Canalave?"

"Yep. And don't ask why I don't just sleep in the Pokémon Center. I don't like it. Speaking of something in that phrase, have you heard about the Galactic grunts?"

"They are grunts?"

"From what I can tell. I was going to head to Solaceon, check out the ruins, then head to Veilstone, but…"

"What?" Paige said, finishing her food.

"Well, Route 209 is closed. Something about Gyrados rampages."

Paige grimaced.

"So, you're just heading to Veilstone."

"How do you know so much about what I'm doing?" Paige asked as she was getting up.

"You're an open book."

"Or…" Paige said, a new idea coming into her head.

"Or what?"

"Do you know someone named Delta?"

BB looked surprised. After a couple moments he asked, "Did you say Delta?"

"Yes."

"Well," BB said, getting over his surprise. "I haven't heard from him in a very long time."

"So, you do know him."

"Yes," BB said carefully. "And he probably contacted you. That's the package you got. And he asked you to head to Veilstone due to the grunts! He would only do that if…"

"What? And did that one clue give it all away?"

"Second question first. Yes. Then, as an answer to your first question, can't say. It would ruin the surprise."

"Can I trust him?" Paige said, grabbing her tray.

"Yes. And, you should probably get to Veilstone ASAP."

"Okay, and ASAP?"

"Sorry, term from somewhere else. It means 'As Soon As Possible'. Oh my, look at the time, I gotta be off."

BB jumped up and ran towards the entrance of the cafeteria. Paige took her tray to the garbage can and set it on top. She had to get Empoleon and hurry to Veilstone. BB's warning didn't help her worry about what's going on.


	7. Chapter 6

**_Chapter 6: Grace_**

 _Kanto/Johto Victory Road Entrance_

Ho-oh and Lugia landed behind a boulder, about 15 yards away from the Entrance. Grace and Lucie hopped off their Pokémon and returned them to their Poké Balls.

"What do you think is in there?" Grace asked, switching her Ho-oh's Poké Ball for Typhlosion's.

"Team Rocket," Lucie said, doing the same for her Lugia and Feraligatr.

"Remember the plan?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm going in."

Both girls crept up to the door. Muffled voices could be heard on the other side. Grace opened the door and walked in, alone. That was the plan. When she got inside, she saw four people. Three people were facing her, and one was facing away. Two of the three were dressed in black, while the other was in white. The fourth person was familiar…

She knocked on the door, signaling Lucie to come in. As she came in, the door squeaked, and the four people turned towards the two girls. Grace and Lucie started walking forward. As they drew closer, Grace recognized the lone person as Max. Then she was able to figure out who the other three were.

The Team Rocket Executives Proton, Petrel, and Arianna.

"Well, well, well!" A voice echoed across the hall. "The perfect reunion!"

Grace and Lucie stopped next to Max and got their Poké Balls out.

"You three and us three," Petrel continued. "How long has it been, a year? And you didn't even send a letter…"

"You guys don't know when to quit do you?" Grace said, taking a step forward. "Giovanni and Archer have quit, so who's leading you now? A Meowth?"

"Very funny," Proton said. "But those two were simply taking a vacation. Giovanni is back to leading us now."

"What?" Lucie said.

"Yes," Arianna said, taking a step forward. "Now you three will see what true power is. Giovanni has more power than those Pokémon that you call legendaries."

"Take that back!" Grace said, beginning to walk towards the executive. She felt hands grab her arms and hold her back.

"Grace!" Max said, pulling her back. "Calm down."

"Yes, Grace." Proton said. "Listen to your boyfriend."

Grace was about to blow. She was beginning to drag Max and Lucie.

"Oh please don't pummel us," Petrel pleaded, raising his hands. "We're just waiting for our ride."

Grace stopped. "Why do you three need a ride?" she asked.

"Because we're done with our mission," Arianna said. "Or, at least the part in this area."

"And what was this mission?" Max asked.

"Sorry," Petrel said, folding his arms and turning away. "Top secret."

Grace clenched her fists. "Stop with the riddles!" she yelled.

"Oh, it's no riddle," Proton said. "Simply an unanswered question."

Grace was about to blow her top. "Well, guess what? Your ride isn't going to be here before this fight gets finished." Grace enlarged Typhlosion's Poké Ball.

"I'm sorry," Arianna said. "But we can't really get in a fight right now. As much as I would love to pound you three to pulps in a rematch."

"When is it coming?" Proton said, looking around.

"Any minute…" Petrel said.

"Well I called the police," Max said. "They will be here before…"

A ringing filled the air. Behind the executives, a golden ring grew from nowhere. It floated a foot above the ground. When it reached about seven feet wide, purple distorted air filled it.

"What is that?" Lucie asked in awe.

"Our ride," Proton said as the executives walked into the ring and disappeared. The ring shrunk and disappeared with a _Ping_.

"Man," Max said. "That police bluff didn't do what I hoped."


	8. Chapter 7

**_Chapter 7: Jackson_**

 _Route 117_

Surfing on Samurott, or any Pokémon for that matter, made Jackson feel nauseated. That's the reason that he sat in front of Winter. So he would puke on her if he did puke. That, and it was his Samurott. Winter had warned him about the puzzle the currents provided and offered to sit in front, but he still decided to sit there.

"How close are we?" Jackson asked, trying to keep his mind off of the nausea.

"Why?" Winter asked. "Are you done with surfing? I could take the reins…"

"No," Jackson said quickly. "I can take it."

"Okay then…" Winter said with a small giggle. "Take the current to our left."

Jackson steered Samurott towards the currents and felt the jerk as the current grabbed hold of them. Jackson's stomach was ready to hurl. After a couple seconds, they slowed down again.

"Wait…" Winter said. "I just remembered. We didn't have to take that current."

Jackson groaned. "Really?"

Winter just giggled.

An island loomed ahead. It was smaller than the island they had to cross earlier, but it wasn't too small. It still had two warehouses on it, both about the size of a warehouse at Poké Star Studios. It had a big grove of trees next to and behind the warehouses. In front of the warehouses was a field. Full of people.

Grunts.

Jackson slowed Samurott down. The grunts were going into the warehouses and grabbing boxes and taking them to the far side of the island where…

The Plasma Frigate was.

Jackson steered Samurott towards the grove of trees. They landed and hopped off. Jackson returned Samurott to his Poké Ball. He was about to grab Zekrom's Master Ball, when Winter stopped him.

"They might need these two again," she told him.

He decided on Zoroark instead. They began to creep towards the direction of the field where the grunts were. When they reached the edge, they crouched down behind some bushes. The grunts moved in and out of the warehouses, carrying boxes of different sizes. In the center of the field were two men.

The first one was tall and wore a lab coat. He had blond hair with a blue strand circling his head. He carried a small book in his hand. The second one was shorter and was wearing a big purple winter coat. His white hair was mostly covered by a tall purple hat.

"Corless and Zinzolin," Winter whispered.

"So this is where Corless was," Jackson said. "Waiting for Zinzolin."

"I thought you said that you were in contact with Corless."

"Yeah, um…" Jackson replied, rubbing his head. "It's been over Xtranciever."

"Of course," Winter said. "Why do you think they need all that equipment?"

"Something for a new legendary?"

"It would be one off region, because I've completed the Pokédex, Victini to Kyurem."

Jackson looked back at the grunts. They seemed to be moving faster. And several of them looked in their direction with a quick glances. Like they were expecting something…

Jackson turned around quickly. Behind them, about 5 feet and closing, was a Klinklang and a Cryogonal. Before Jackson could warn Winter, an earsplitting noise filled the air. Klinklang had begun grinding its gears, and Cryogonal was letting out a shriek. Winter turned towards the Pokémon while Jackson turned back towards the field. About a dozen grunts had broken from the rest, and were running towards Winter and Jackson's hiding place.

"Winter," Jackson said urgently, tugging her sleeve.

"What is it… Oh."

"I'll take front?"

"Go for it."

Jackson threw his Poké ball. "Night Daze!"

Winter threw hers. "Seed Bomb!"

Jackson's Poké Ball popped open and revealed a black fox standing up on its back two legs. It had hair going down its back into a ponytail. It had red claws that extended about three inches. Winter's Pokémon looked like a green monkey with a tall bush on its head.

Zoroark turned to the oncoming grunts, raising its arms above its head. They began to glow with a crimson energy. Once the energy had gathered along its entire arm, it slammed them down, sending an expanding shockwave towards the grunts. The grunts tried to stop, but ran into the wave, knocking them to the ground.

Winter's Pokémon, Simisage, whipped its head, sending several glowing spheres towards the two Pokémon behind them. They exploded in front of them, sending them tumbling to the ground.

"Well, well, well," a voice said across the field. "The 'heroes' have returned to stop us."

Jackson turned to the voice. Zinzolin and Corless were now facing them. The grunts were beginning to move faster between the labs and the frigate.

"You can't let an old man and his friends have peace, can you?" Zinzolin spat. "You just have to extinguish us."

"You escaped from prison!" Winter yelled. "You're in the wrong, not us!"

"That may be," Corless said in his usual smart act. "But soon, we won't be here."

"We have you cornered," Jackson said. "And if you run, we'll follow."

"That's only if you know where we're going," Corless said.

Before anyone could say anything more, a grunt ran up to the other two.

"Sirs," the grunt said, saluting. "The packing has finished."

"About time," Zinzolin snapped. "Get these sorries off the ground and into the ship."

The grunt nodded and called out to other grunts. Several grunts approached carefully and helped their fallen comrades off the ground and over onto the Frigate.

"Cryogonal, return," Zinzolin said, holding out his Poké ball.

"Klinklang, come back," Corless said, doing the same.

Two red beams of energy shot from their Poké balls and connected to their fallen Pokémon. After being pulled into the energy and returned, Zinzolin and Corless ran towards the ship.

"Let's get them!" Winter called, running after the two fleeing men.

"Zoroark, follow," Jackson said, chasing after her.

Suddenly, two Shadow Triad appeared in front of Zoroark and Simisage and knocked them to the ground. They disappeared as fast as they had appeared. Winter and Jackson changed their courses to get to their fallen Pokémon.

A whirling filled the air as the Plasma Frigate lifted off the ground and into the air. Jackson looked up to see Corless and Zinzolin looking down at the two. Then, the air was filled with another noise.

A ringing.

A golden ring began to grow out of the air in front of the Frigate. When it grew about the size of the Frigate, the center of the ring was filled with distorted blues and blacks. The Frigate began to move towards the ring.

"Where is it going?" Winter asked.

The Frigate continued to charge at the ring. As soon as it moved through the ring, it vanished. Winter and Jackson stared in awe as the ring's center cleared, then shrink and disappear.


	9. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8: Paige_**

 _Pastoria City Gym_

"So you're not here for the festival then?" Crasher Wake asked with a frown.

"I really wish I could stay," Paige replied. "But I need to get to Veilstone City really quick."

"Why?" Maylene asked. "The only attractions there are the department store, the game corner, and the gym."

"You've never struck me as the kind of girl to travel several cities just to go shopping or gambling," Wake said, folding his arms.

"And since I'm here," Maylene said, doing the same. "The gym is only under care by the Karate Quads."

"I've heard about some activity of Team Galactic in Veilstone," Paige said. "I wanted to check it out."

"Why didn't you take Solaceon Town's path?" Maylene asked. "It's much shorter."

"Gyrados rampages," Paige explained. "Plus, I heard that there are some Galactic Grunt look-alikes in this city. Is it true?"

"Yeah I've seen some," Wake said. "But they're all just for the festival I think."

"Have you seen any of them stop at a Pokémon?"

"Well, no," Wake said.

"Which way do you see them go?"

"Usually towards Route 123."

"Then their headed for Veilstone," Maylene said.

"But why there?" Wake said. "Besides their old base."

"The meteors," Paige said. "Their old devices are still there."

"Why do you think that?"

"A hunch," Paige lied. She couldn't tell them about Delta. Then she saw something.

 _Where was it?_ She thought. _I saw it right… there!_

Behind Wake and Maylene, in the crowd, was red hair standing out like an Arbok in an Ekans farm. The red hair looked slightly familiar. It looked like…

Mars.

She watched as the red hair bobbed through the crowded street and around the corner before signaling the two gym leaders to follow her. She walked into the crowded street and saw the red hair on the other side of the street at a window. Sticking to the opposite side of the street, Paige picked a window and stood at it, using the reflection to watch the red hair. Wake and Maylene stood next to her, facing the window.

"What are we doing?" Wake asked.

"Mars is across the street," Paige answered. "I want to see where she's going."

"I see the red hair," Maylene said without turning around to the street. "But how do you know it's Mars?"

"I'm certain it is," Paige replied. She looked at the reflection of the window and saw the red hair begin to move down the street. "Stay close to each other, but not too close," Paige said as she walked after the red hair.

She followed the hair all over the city, but it was slowly making its way in a general direction. Route 123. She saw Wake a couple times as she turned corners, but couldn't spot Maylene. When they were about a block from the city's exit, the red hair disappeared into an alley. As it disappeared into the alley, Paige saw the face, and she was certain it was Mars.

She stopped right outside of the alley to wait for the other two. Wake arrived within seconds.

"Have you seen Maylene?" Paige asked. Wake pointed up behind her. She turned and looked up to see Maylene do a backflip off the top of the building and land next to her.

"That alley's a dead end," she said, pointing.

"Perfect," Paige said, grabbing Empoleon's Poké ball. The two gym leaders grabbed their own. The three stepped around the corner to find… nothing.

Paige charged into the back of the alley. Nobody was here.

"There's nothing," Wake said. "Are you sure this is where that red head went?"

"This is," Paige answered as she looked behind a trash can.

"I saw her come in here too," Maylene verified. "And it was Mars. I saw her face."

"Where'd she go then?" Wake asked, moving into the alley and lifting up a garbage can lid. They all spent several minutes searching the alley from top to bottom. Afterwards, they all went out of the alley.

"This is weird," Paige said, scratching her head.

"She must've had some kind of psychic-type Pokémon," Maylene said. "One that could use Teleport."

"She has to be heading to Veilstone City," Paige said. "I gotta hurry."

"I'm coming with you," Maylene said. "I'm the gym leader there."

"I'll call Looker and tell him what's going on," Wake said. "I'll use one of those Cross tran-whatevers."

"Then let's go," Paige said, turning towards the exit to Route 123.


	10. Chapter 9

**_Chapter 9: Xavier_**

 _Magenta Plaza, Lumiose City_

"Anything new?" Xavier asked as he stepped into the small room carrying two trays of food. The room was part of a café that wrapped around Magenta Plaza and Estival Avenue. It was an expensive café, but Looker got in cheaper because he was a "respective customer". The room had a big window with blinds covering it facing out towards Magenta Plaza. A small table with two chairs sat next to the window. Looker sat in the chair on the right with a camera, some photos, and lots of files in front of him.

"Just three more whackies," Looker said as Xavier set the trays down. "All walked in, but not out."

"Any affiliation with the previous groups you mentioned?" Xavier said as he grabbed his galette and took a bite.

"All three," Looker said, sliding a black file with a yellow _G_ on it. "The first guy was a man named Saturn. He was once an admin for Team Galactic. He was basically the right hand man to Cyrus, their leader. Nobody said it though. All the admins were 'equal'."

Xavier looked through the file. Most of the info was on movements he had lead in the past. He tended to use a Toxicroak. Greninja could solve that problem easily. He closed the file and placed it on top of a stack that looked similar.

"The next person is an admin named Archer," Looker said as he slid a black file with a red _R_ on it over to Xavier.

"Was he the guy who tried to resurrect Team Rocket over in Johto and Kanto?"

"That's him. Basically, like Saturn, he was once Giovanni's right hand man. The only appearance he made was Johto Radio Tower."

Xavier looked through the file. Same things as Saturn. The only thing that stuck out to him was his Houndoom. Could he use Mega Evolution? Once he had finished, Xavier set the file back.

"And the last person?" Xavier asked, grabbing his galette again.

"A big brute named Matt," Looker said, handing him a photo. "We have no files on him, so this picture is all we have."

Xavier glanced at the photo. It was a picture of Magenta Plaza. Walking towards Lysandre Café was a tall man about Lysandre's height. He wore what looked like what had once been a wetsuit, but the torso area had been ripped off. His tan back showed from where the wetsuit was supposed to be.

Xavier was about to hand the photo back to Looker when a ringing came from Looker's pockets. Looker pulled out a watch looking device from inside his coat. He put it on his wrist and hit a button.

"Hello?" Looker said. A voice came from his ear piece. "Why hello Wake. To what do I owe this pleasure?" The voice started talking again. Looker looked at Xavier, then got up and left the room.

Xavier looked back at the photo. Matt seemed to be walking too straight, too openly. Then Xavier noticed the other person in the picture. A slouched man was in the background of the picture. The background was fuzzy, so not many details could be made out. All Xavier could see was his black clothes, the mess of white hair on the back of his head, and his eyes.

His eyes that seemed to be looking directly at the camera.

Xavier heard the door open and a pair of footsteps enter the room. No, several pairs of footsteps. He turned around to see five people in different outfits standing along the wall. Despite the differences, Xavier knew what they were.

Grunts.

A grunt dressed like a spaceman sent out a Glameow. A pirate grunt threw out a Mighteyena.

"Get him!" both grunts yelled.

Both Pokémon jumped at Xavier and knocked him through the window and into the plaza beyond.


	11. Chapter 10

**_Chapter 10: Winter_**

 _P2 Laboratories_

"What was that?" Jackson asked as he tended to his Zoroark. "The Frigate just disappeared!"

"It was the ring," Winter said as Simisage jumped up. "When it went through it, the Frigate vanished. It must be some sort of cloaker."

"It came out of nowhere," Jackson exclaimed. "Out of thin air!"

"It must've been some sort of machine," Winter said, looking at where the ring had been. "We should go up there and check."

"Except that our only flying Pokémon are the ones that Team Plasma is trying to get a hold of!"

Winter thought for a moment. That was a valid point. If any grunts were left behind to…

"Simisage," she said, turning to her Pokémon. "Can you search the warehouses for any grunts left behind?"

"And Zoroark," Jackson said to his Pokémon. "Can you search the grove of trees?"

Both Pokémon nodded their heads and walked towards the areas that they were assigned. Simisage went into the closest warehouse for a couple minutes then came back out and disappeared into the next one. Zoroark went into the grove. After about a half hour, both Pokémon returned to their trainers. They nodded their heads in affirmation.

Winter grabbed out her Master Ball that contained Reshiram. She felt a little paranoid letting her out. After the incident at the Giant Chasm… she couldn't think about it. Before she could convince herself otherwise, she threw her Master Ball into the air. Jackson did the same.

The two black and white legendary Pokémon stood in front of their trainers. After regarding each other for a bit, they both turned to their trainers.

"Can you both check to see if there's something over there?" Jackson asked, pointing to where the ring had been.

"And come back if you sense any traps," Winter added.

Winter and Jackson watched as the two Pokémon launched into the air towards where the ring had been.

As soon as the two had flew off, both Xtrancievers rang, causing Winter to jump. She looked at Jackson, who was snickering slightly, then answered the call.

"Winter, good for you to answer," a voice said. "Can you get Jackson to answer?"

Winter looked over at Jackson, who quickly turned his Xtranciever on.

"Good," the voice said. "How are you two?"

"Fine, no thanks to you Delta," Winter snapped. "We almost walked right into a trap!"

"I did warn you about Zinzolin being there," Delta said. "And I know that they escaped. I have their destination."

"Where?" Jackson asked.

"I believe you promised to help me with a project," Delta said.

"What's the project then?" Jackson said.

"To help me with a team," Delta said. "Or be part of it. You choose that part. And since you are probably going to keep asking, Zinzolin's location is Veilstone City, Sinnoh. I've talked to Skyla to give you a ride."

"What about the ring?" Jackson asked.

"What ring?" Delta asked.

"The one that the Frigate disappeared through," Winter explained. "It appeared out of nowhere and made the Frigate vanish."

"I'll look into it," Delta said. "Gotta go. I need to find some help for one of my other contacts. Get to Veilstone. Be discreet. Adios!"

With that, the ending beep sounded. Winter looked up to the two legendaries and whistled. They both turned back to where their two trainers were and flew towards them. She looked at Jackson, and punched him playfully in the arm.

"What was that for?" Jackson asked, rubbing his shoulder.

"For laughing at me," Winter said with a smile. After returning Simisage, she said, "Now suck it up and let's get to Mistralton."

"One question," Jackson said. "What does adiós mean?"


	12. Chapter 11

**_Chapter 10: Winter_**

 _P2 Laboratories_

"What was that?" Jackson asked as he tended to his Zoroark. "The Frigate just disappeared!"

"It was the ring," Winter said as Simisage jumped up. "When it went through it, the Frigate vanished. It must be some sort of cloaker."

"It came out of nowhere," Jackson exclaimed. "Out of thin air!"

"It must've been some sort of machine," Winter said, looking at where the ring had been. "We should go up there and check."

"Except that our only flying Pokémon are the ones that Team Plasma is trying to get a hold of!"

Winter thought for a moment. That was a valid point. If any grunts were left behind to…

"Simisage," she said, turning to her Pokémon. "Can you search the warehouses for any grunts left behind?"

"And Zoroark," Jackson said to his Pokémon. "Can you search the grove of trees?"

Both Pokémon nodded their heads and walked towards the areas that they were assigned. Simisage went into the closest warehouse for a couple minutes then came back out and disappeared into the next one. Zoroark went into the grove. After about a half hour, both Pokémon returned to their trainers. They nodded their heads in affirmation.

Winter grabbed out her Master Ball that contained Reshiram. She felt a little paranoid letting her out. After the incident at the Giant Chasm… she couldn't think about it. Before she could convince herself otherwise, she threw her Master Ball into the air. Jackson did the same.

The two black and white legendary Pokémon stood in front of their trainers. After regarding each other for a bit, they both turned to their trainers.

"Can you both check to see if there's something over there?" Jackson asked, pointing to where the ring had been.

"And come back if you sense any traps," Winter added.

Winter and Jackson watched as the two Pokémon launched into the air towards where the ring had been.

As soon as the two had flew off, both Xtrancievers rang, causing Winter to jump. She looked at Jackson, who was snickering slightly, then answered the call.

"Winter, good for you to answer," a voice said. "Can you get Jackson to answer?"

Winter looked over at Jackson, who quickly turned his Xtranciever on.

"Good," the voice said. "How are you two?"

"Fine, no thanks to you Delta," Winter snapped. "We almost walked right into a trap!"

"I did warn you about Zinzolin being there," Delta said. "And I know that they escaped. I have their destination."

"Where?" Jackson asked.

"I believe you promised to help me with a project," Delta said.

"What's the project then?" Jackson said.

"To help me with a team," Delta said. "Or be part of it. You choose that part. And since you are probably going to keep asking, Zinzolin's location is Veilstone City, Sinnoh. I've talked to Skyla to give you a ride."

"What about the ring?" Jackson asked.

"What ring?" Delta asked.

"The one that the Frigate disappeared through," Winter explained. "It appeared out of nowhere and made the Frigate vanish."

"I'll look into it," Delta said. "Gotta go. I need to find some help for one of my other contacts. Get to Veilstone. Be discreet. Adios!"

With that, the ending beep sounded. Winter looked up to the two legendaries and whistled. They both turned back to where their two trainers were and flew towards them. She looked at Jackson, and punched him playfully in the arm.

"What was that for?" Jackson asked, rubbing his shoulder.

"For laughing at me," Winter said with a smile. After returning Simisage, she said, "Now suck it up and let's get to Mistralton."

"One question," Jackson said. "What does adiós mean?"


	13. Chapter 12

**_Chapter 12: Paige_**

 _Valor Lake Resort_

Paige and Maylene climbed up the stairs towards the blue and white building that marked the entrance to the Valor Lake Resort.

"Out of all the lakes in the region," Maylene said suddenly. "Why build a resort on this one?"

Paige thought for a moment. The question was out of place, but not unwelcome. It helped clear her head of all the new worries.

"Well," she said slowly. "Lake Acuity is really cold, so not many visitors would go there."

"Plus how far you would have to travel," Maylene added as they walked to the door of the building.

"And I don't think that the quiet towns by Lake Verity would like to have a noisy resort nearby," Paige continued. "And there's not much room to build one anyway."

Maylene opened the door for Paige. They both walked into the lobby and headed towards the healing counter.

"And would they build a resort at the sendoff spring?" Maylene asked.

"Even if they knew about it?" Paige asked. "Probably not with the ruins inside Turnback Cave nearby. Plus, it's mostly a crater."

"So was Lake Valor when Team Galactic attacked."

"That's why it was built before."

Both girls started laughing. They stopped to catch their breath before they continued on towards the desk.

 _I guess I needed that._ Paige thought. _I'm way too uptight again. I need to find a way to get rid of stress when things like this pop up._

"Hi," said the lady at the desk as we walked up. "What can I do for you two today?"

"We need a couple of our Pokémon healed quickly," Maylene said, holding out her Lucario's Poké ball. Paige held out her Empoleon's Poké ball.

"Sure thing," the lady said as she took the Poké balls. She placed them on a tray with holes behind the counter. She hit a button on it and the balls sunk into the tray slightly as the tray began to pulse.

"So have you seen those weirdos walking through here?" the lady asked.

"The one dressed like spacemen?" Paige asked. "Yeah."

"Not only them," the lady said. "But all the others as well."

"Like what?" Paige asked, intrigued.

"Oh, people in black suits with red R's, pirates, and people in red suit and ties," she answered. "They just pass through. Nothing else."

"Any certain direction?" Paige asked. Before the lady could answer, a ding sounded behind her and the Poké balls popped out of the tray. She grabbed them and turned back to Maylene and Paige.

"Hope you have a nice day," the lady said after she handed back the balls. She then gestured for them to move to the side. Paige turned around and saw a couple trainers behind them.

"Do you think those other 'weirdos' are part of another gang?" Maylene asked as they walked towards the back entrance.

"Maybe," Paige answered as they walked out the door and into the streets of the resort. "Have there been any other gangs here in the past?"

"No. But I've heard of gangs in other regions."

The two girls continued walking through the resort, each in their own thoughts. Paige saw people walking around like it was a normal day for them. When would she be able to relax like that?

As they exited the resort, a cry came from the sky. As Paige began to look up, one of her Poké balls fell off her belt and popped open. Mespirit flew up into the sky, yelling out a greeting. Paige looked up and saw Mespirit and a similar looking Pokémon flying around in circles.

After about a minute, both Pokémon floated down to the two trainers. The other Pokémon looked like Mespirit, except it was blue and had a different shape of head.

Azelf and Mespirit talked for a while before turning to the two trainers. The gems on both of their foreheads began to glow. Paige suddenly found herself standing in a cave with puddles around it.

"Where are we?" Maylene asked.

"Azelf's cave," Paige answered, spotting the small Pokémon floating in the center of the cave. "What do you want us to…" She was interrupted by a ringing.

A golden ring began to fill the cave in front of Azelf. When it had grown to be about 5 meters around, four people stepped from the distorted air in its center. One was a galactic grunt. Another was dressed in a blue pirate's outfit, while the third one wore a red suit and tie. The last one was in a black outfit with a red R on it.

As Azelf opened its eyes, all four threw a Poké ball. A Golbat, a Houndour, and two unrecognizable Pokémon popped out. Azelf's eyes flared with panic, and teleported out of the cave. The vision ended and Paige was back at the exit of the resort.

"Are you wanting to come with us?" Paige asked Azelf.

It shook its head and the gem on its forehead glowed again. Paige saw a Pokémon that looked like Azelf and Mespirit, but had a different shaped head that was yellow. Its eyes seemed to be closed. The image faded.

"Is Uxie in trouble?" Maylene asked. Azelf shook its head.

"Are there people after Uxie?" Paige followed. Azelf nodded its head.

"You want to check on Uxie," Maylene tried.

"And warn her?" Paige added. Azelf nodded several times very quickly.

Azelf turned to go, but stopped. It looked at Mespirit and said something. Mespirit shook its head. It turned to go again, but turned back to the two girls. The gem on its forehead glowed once more. An image of a Pokémon appeared in Paige's head, one that she had never seen before. Instead of fading away like the other visions had, this one disappeared quickly. Azelf turned and flew off into the distance.

As Paige watched Azelf leave, she could only think about the Pokémon it had shown her. The one thing that stood engraved in her head was the smile full of sharp teeth in that Pokémon's mouth.

"Come on," Paige said. "We should hurry faster. Those visions don't settle the feeling that something big is going down in Veilstone."


	14. Chapter 13

**_Chapter 13: Xavier_**

 _Magenta Plaza, Lumiose City_

"Mighteyena, use Bite!"

"Counter with Hydro Pump!"

As the black wolf-like Pokémon jumped towards Xavier, a heavy stream of water hit it in its side and smacked it into a wall. Greninja jumped in front of Xavier, preparing itself.

The pirate grunt returned the fainted Pokémon and sent out another one. Greninja was breathing heavily. It wouldn't be able to last much longer against five people. He would have to…

"Aerial Ace!" the space grunt yelled.

"Stop it with Ice Beam!"

A Golbat began glowing white as it began to move towards Xavier. Before it could do anything, Greninja shot a beam of ice cold energy from its mouth at it. The Golbat fell to the ground, encased in ice. Suddenly, an Ekans wrapped around Greninja and a Glameow began using Fury Swipes on him.

"Get out of there Greninja!" Xavier yelled.

Greninja struggled to break free, but couldn't. Xavier began to panic. Should he use Zygarde? What if the day repeats itself? He turned and stared at the pirate and Flare grunts.

"Mighteyena, Take Down!" the pirate commanded.

"Diggersby, Giga Impact!" the Flare grunt yelled.

Both Pokémon began to glow with a white energy. When they were fully charged, they launched at Xavier. Xavier crouched down and covered his head, knowing that it wouldn't do any good. He heard the two Pokémon getting closer and closer and closer and…

"Hydro Cannon!" a voice yelled from the sky.

Xavier looked up and saw a giant blue Pokémon falling out of the sky. He stumbled backwards as it hit the ground and shattered the stone beneath it. It aimed the large cannon on its back towards the approaching Pokémon and fired a torrent of energized water. The water hit both of the Pokémon and knocked them back against the wall.

Xavier looked back towards Greninja. A blue alligator Pokémon on two legs was fighting the Glameow, while a badger Pokémon with a fiery collar fought the Ekans. Greninja laid motionless behind them.

Xavier's mind finally kicked in. A Mega Blastoise, Feraligatr, and Typhlosion had arrived to fight. Two girls that looked almost the same stood behind the Feraligatr and Typhlosion. A boy about his age dropped from the sky and stood next to him, holding his hand out. Xavier took it.

"You okay?" the boy asked as he helped him up.

"Thanks to you, fine," Xavier answered.

"Would your name happen to be Xavier?"

"Yeah."

"Great. Any idea why… Blastoise, Rapid Spin to counter!"

The boy turned away from Xavier towards the battle. Xavier turned and saw three more grunts in different outfits run out of the café and throw Poké balls. A Weezing, a Sealeo, and a Swalot came out and joined the battle against the three Pokémon helping him. Xavier grabbed a Poké ball off his belt. If he could scare the grunts enough, they might run away.

A sharp _Crack_ sounded behind Xavier. He turned and saw the Golbat in ice beginning to break free. Xavier threw his Poké ball. His Charizard popped out, the metal Mega brace around its neck shining in the sunlight. Xavier touched the stone in the ring on his finger, making it shine with a brilliant light.

The blue and black stone in Charizard's Mega brace began to glow as well. The glow slowly spread across the brace and Charizard's body. Like evolution, the glowing form changed its shape. As the glow faded, Mega Charizard was revealed. It was now blue and black, with spikes protruding out of its shoulders. Blue flames leaked out of the corners of its mouth, catching the wind and remaking the famous picture of Mega Charizard.

The Golbat smashed out of the ice and shot into the sky.

"Follow it!" Xavier called.

Charizard launched into the air after it, following its every move. Despite having its two wings merged into the single flap behind him, Charizard could still move fast.

"Stop it with Aerial Ace!" the spaceman yelled.

The Golbat began to glow with a white energy. It picked up speed, turned around, and hit Charizard square on. Charizard faltered slightly, but remained in the air.

"Dragon Claw!" Xavier called.

Glowing green claws of energy surrounded Charizard's hands. Rushing forward, Charizard brought the claws down on top of the Golbat sending it shooting towards the ground. It landed in the middle of the battle below, sending up a giant cloud of dust. As the dust cleared, the Golbat laid fainted in a crater.

"Enough fighting!" Xavier called. "You are facing two mega evolved Pokémon and two obviously well trained Pokémon. Return your Pokémon."

All the grunts reluctantly returned their Pokémon one at a time. Before Xavier could say anything else, all the grunts turned and ran back towards the café. Xavier gave chase. He heard footsteps behind him. He turned his head and saw the boy with the Mega Blastoise following him. He smiled at Xavier.

Turning back to the chase, Xavier saw the grunts disappear into the café. He turned the corner and saw the last grunt disappear into the distorted air in the center of a golden ring in the center of the room. Xavier stopped at the doorway. He heard the boy stop right behind him.

"Not another one," he heard the boy whisper.

The ring shrunk and disappeared. Xavier turned towards the boy.

"Why are you and your friends looking for me?" Xavier asked.

"Why were those grunts attacking you?" the boy countered.

Both of them stared at each other for several moments. Xavier took a deep breath.

"How about you go find your friends, I find my friend, and we sit down and talk about what just happened?" Xavier suggested.

"Fine by me," the boy replied, turning to go.

"But first," Xavier said, stopping the boy. "What's your name?"

"Max," he replied, turning his head back to Xavier.


	15. Chapter 14

**_Chapter 14: Jackson_**

 _Skies over Sinnoh_

Jackson's head hit the roof. Again. While Skyla's plane had several rows of seats, it had a pretty low ceiling. Turbulence didn't help with the problem. Skyla and her co-pilot, Richard, were up in the cockpit. Jackson and Winter sat in the fifth row back on the right side of the plane. Winter had gotten the window seat, after flipping a coin. She sat there, gazing out the window.

Jackson rubbed his head. He tried to remember what he was thinking about before the bump. Oh, right. The Sinnoh Region. He had heard about it from his friend Yancy. He knew it had the basic eight gym badges and Pokémon League, plus Pokémon Contests like Hoenn.

"Those mountains are huge," Winter said in wonder. "Nothing like the Reversal or Twist Mountains."

"What's it called?" Jackson asked, looking out the window in the row in front of them.

"The range itself doesn't have a name," she began, turning to Jackson. "It's all called Mount Coronet, based off of the highest peak. These mountains have made several Pokémon of the same species look completely different due to their separation."

"Shellos, correct?" Jackson asked.

"How did you know?"

"Yancy had a pink one that she traded me. And I saw another trainer with a blue one."

"Oh."

Winter turned back to the window. Jackson would never be able to understand the reaction. Every time he mentioned Yancy, Winter seemed to close up. He would never be able to understand the reaction of girls.

"So…" Jackson tried. "What do you think we're going to find in Veilstone?"

Winter turned and gave him a flat look.

"Sorry?" Jackson said, even though he wasn't certain what he was sorry about.

Winter took a deep breath. "Team Plasma and these other groups that Delta talked about. He told us about P2 Labs and was right."

"Who says he isn't leading us into a trap though," Jackson said. "Can we really trust him?"

"Well," Winter said. "He said that you and him were pretty alike. If he's anything like you, then…"

"He's trustworthy?"

"Well I was going to say questionable, but that works."

Jackson scowled. "Not funny."

Winter giggled. "You left yourself open for that one."

Eventually, Jackson's scowl broke down into a smile. "I'll get you back."

"Says the trainer 2 years late getting his first Pokémon," she countered.

"Leave Samurott out of this."

The two began laughing hard. It continued for several more minutes before they finally calmed down.

"Okay, seriously," Jackson said, wiping tears from his eyes. "Can we really trust Delta?"

"He did lead us to Zinzolin," Winter replied, wiping tears off of her face.

"Who got away," Jackson said.

"How could he have known?"

"He could've planned…" Jackson started. He heard something. It was distant, but clear. And it was growing louder.

A ringing.

Jackson looked past Winter's head and out her window. In the distance was the golden ring from the Labs. He looked back towards Winter, then pointed out the window. She turned around and gasped.

"How did it…" she started, but stopped. "It's moving with us."

Jackson had noticed. While the trees were moving below them, but the ring stayed directly next to them.

"What is it doing..." Jackson stopped as the Plasma Frigate burst out of the ring and charged straight at the plane.

"Buckle up and hang on to something," Skyla said over the intercom.

Jackson and Winter barely got into their seatbelts as the plane took a sudden dive towards the ground. Jackson's stomach twisted as she pulled up out of the dive. He looked out of the window to see the Frigate turn and begin to follow them.

Jackson turned from the window when he heard footsteps walking down the aisle. He turned and saw two of the Shadow Triad walking towards the cockpit door. Before Jackson could yell anything at them, they opened the door to the cockpit and went in, closing the door behind them.

"Winter," Jackson said as he got out of his seatbelt. "Shadows."

"I saw," Winter replied. Jackson led the way down the aisle with Winter following behind him. They reached the door and were about to enter when two thumps sounded from inside the cabin. The plane began to stoop steeply and Jackson knew they were going to crash.


	16. Chapter 15

**_Chapter 15: Paige_**

 _Veilstone City Entrance_

"So how many people have challenged you?" Paige asked.

"Since you," Maylene said. "About three each month."

"So," Paige said as they walked into the small building connecting Veilstone City to Route 214. "A bit busy then?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Few can beat me since I got taught a new technique for my Lucario."

"And what's that secret?"

Before Maylene could reply, Paige heard a yell of pain from outside. Not even seeing if Maylene was following, Paige darted towards the entrance to Veilstone.

 _Who could be hurt?_ Paige wondered. _Was it Team Galactic or the other gangs?_

Paige exited the building and looked around. Everyone was walking around as if no one was in trouble. Paige looked into the sky and saw two dots, one black and one white, flying away from some sort of swarm. As Paige tried to see what they were, fire and lightning suddenly filled the sky. Paige blinked away the light from her eyes.

When she looked back into the sky, she saw the dots coming closer to the ground, but heading west. They flew over a group of buildings, then dived down. Paige turned around to see Maylene walking out of the building calmly.

"I know that you are wanting to find Team Galactic quickly," Maylene said. "But you didn't have run off like that."

"Didn't you hear the yell?" Paige asked, confused.

"What yell?"

Paige was confused. How could she have not heard the yell? It had been quite loud. Then there had been the Pokémon…

"Follow me," she said, walking in the direction the Pokémon had gone. She heard Maylene follow her.

"The meteor field is the other way," Maylene pointed out.

"I know," Paige answered. "I saw something. But I'm not certain what."

They continued until they came to a row of houses blocking the way. Paige was certain that the two Pokémon had come this way. She spotted an alley between two of the houses. She walked towards it.

"All that's behind those two houses is a grove of trees," Maylene said as they reached the alley. Paige could see the trees at the end of it.

"Are there any clearings in there?" Paige asked, turning to Maylene.

"I believe so."

That was good enough. Paige walked down the alley and into the trees. She tried to stay as quiet as she could as she stepped over small bushes and twigs. She saw a couple of Marill bounce through the forest. She traveled for some time before hearing voices. She slowed and signaled Maylene to do the same.

They creeped forward, ducking low. Paige saw the trees ahead begin to thin. The voices were growing louder. Her and Maylene ducked behind a bush and peeked over it into the clearing.

Two giant dragon looking Pokémon, one white and one black, stood in the clearing. The white one had fur, while the black one was covered in armor. They both stood watching to kids, both seeming to be her age, waving bottles under two adults' noses.

As Paige leaned forward to get a better look, her knee snapped a twig. Both dragons looked over in their direction. The black one walked over towards them, its footsteps shaking the ground. It peered over the bush at the two girls and growled.

Paige wasn't certain what to do. Attack or run?

"What did you find, Zekrom?" Paige heard the girl ask as she walked towards them. She peered over the edge. "You've got to be kidding me. What do you want?"

Paige was speechless. What did you answer to something like that? Ringing filled the clearing. Paige looked down at her bag a saw that watch device that Delta had sent her was ringing. She picked it up and hit a button on it.

The screen filled with four spots. The top two held the girl and boy's face. The bottom left one contained hers, and the bottom right one had an audio symbol on it.

"What is it?" the girl asked. Her voice came from both her and the watch.

"Tell me all three of you are in Veilstone," Delta said.

"I don't…"

"We are," Paige said, helping the girl out. "Two of their friends are hurt and we're healing them real quick."

"Better heal them quickly," Delta said. "I'm sorry about the plane crash. It appears that you are being monitored more closely than I anticipated. All the gangs have gathered at the Meteor Field. Paige, can you lead Winter and Jackson to the field and delay the gangs?"

"Sure," Paige answered. Their help would be… helpful.

"Thanks," Delta said. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

After that, the audio symbol was replaced with static. Paige looked up from it at the girl, who was looking at her.

"Let's go help Jackson," she said. "Then we can go."

Paige stood up, and moved forward.

"I'm Paige, by the way," she said, holding her hand out.


End file.
